Editorial: Voters should reject petition to close Boulder’s West Pearl

One would be hard-pressed to find worse timing for a citizen petition to close two blocks of West Pearl Street in Boulder.

Downtown is struggling with high office vacancies, declines in foot traffic, and anemic sales at restaurants and retail stores. Restaurateurs, in particular, face tough times due to a reduced downtown workforce, inflationary pressures, higher minimum-wage requirements, an economic slowdown and changing consumer habits.

But that hasn’t stopped Pearl for You, a citizens group that has launched a petition drive to permanently close off two blocks of West Pearl to vehicular traffic. The move would revive a pandemic-era closure intended to allow for additional outdoor dining at restaurants along the stretch just west of the Pearl Street Mall, between Ninth and 11th streets.

Supporters in 2022 asked the City Council to make the closure permanent, but council members declined, allowing the closure to expire.

Now, Pearl for You seeks to force the City Council’s hands, and is gathering signatures for a petition that would require the council to enact a resolution to establish a “community space” on the two blocks to “support public use, outdoor dining, and street activations including art installations, green spaces, and community activities, by closing it to private vehicular traffic.”

The group has until May 28 to gather at least 3,401 signatures to qualify for the 2025 ballot.

We urge Boulder residents to reject the petition, and if it appears on the ballot, to reject the measure.

Business and property owners, along with civic organizations such as the Downtown Boulder Partnership and the Boulder Chamber, overwhelmingly oppose a revived closure.

“On the surface, this seems like a shiny, happy idea,” Downtown Boulder Partnership CEO Bettina Swigger said in a guest commentary published in the Daily Camera. “To those who appreciated the novelty of pandemic-era emergency innovation, spending a sunny day walking and dining on streets normally used by cars sounds great. But the current reality is much different, and this petition is not in the best interests of our community and the people who love spending time in our downtown and come here every day.”

Restaurant owners along the West Pearl stretch have lamented that during the prior closure, sales were down significantly. Customers prefer the convenience of parking and curbside dropoff, and not all customers are physically able to walk long distances to frequent stores, restaurants and bars along the two blocks.

Not only would it further devastate businesses along the two-block stretch but it also would come at an unknown cost. The ballot measure is silent regarding costs of implementing a permanent closure, a particularly concerning omission as the city faces budgetary challenges.

Supporters of closure prefer to ignore those concerns, seeking to force on the city, customers and businesses their own preferences.

It’s the wrong idea, a misguided approach and a horrible time.

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